150 Leadership Books Written by LGBTQ+ Authors (2023)

We created this list to promote leadership narratives written by the LGBTQ+ community. This list is meant to be a resource, not an official endorsement. The books are not ranked or listed in any particular order.

1. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
2. Entrepreneurial You: Monetize Your Expertise, Create Multiple Income Streams, and Thrive by Dorie Clark
3. Seriously…I’m Kidding by Ellen Degeneres
4. Shut Up, I’m Talking!: Coming Out in Hollywood and Making It to the Middle by Jason Stuart
5. All In: An Autobiography by Billie Jean King
6. An Archive of Hope: Harvey Milk’s Speeches and Writings by Harvey Milk
7. Rainbow Warrior: My Life in Color by Gilbert Baker
8. The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer
9. Freddie Mercury: A Life, In His Own Words by Freddie Mercury
10. GuRu by RuPaul
11. The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss by Anderson Cooper & his mom Gloria Vanderbilt
12. Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock
13. Untamed by Glennon Doyle
14. Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir by Brian Broome
15. Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing: Essays by Lauren Hough
16. Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of Their Jungle by Steven Yacovelli
17. Fit to Serve: Reflections on a Secret Life, Private Struggle, and Public Battle to Become the First Openly Gay U.S. Ambassador by James C. Hormel & Erin Martin
18. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde
19. In Defense of Our America: The Fight for Civil Liberties in the Age of Terror by Anthony D. Romero
20. Beautiful on the Outside: A Memoir by Adam Rippon
21. Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level by Leander Kahney
22. The Path Forward: Rethinking Federal Marijuana Policy by Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Rep. Jared Polis
23. Forever Young: The Story of Troye Sivan by Alana Wulff
24. The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin by Masha Gessen
25. Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen
26. Raf Simons by Sunny Chanday
27. Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay
28. Everybody’s Got Something by Robin Roberts & Veronica Chambers
29. Dear White People by Justin Simien
30. Michael Kors by Sunny Chanday
31. This is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism by Don Lemon
32. Binge by Tyler Oakley
33. Tom Ford by Tom Ford
34. On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope by DeRay Mckesson
35. Blood, Bones, & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton
36. White Girls by Hilton Als
37. Oh Myyy!: There Goes the Internet by George Takei
38. They Called Us Enemy: Expanded Edition by George Takei
39. The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom: Practical and Spiritual Steps to You Can Stop Worrying by Suze Orman
40. Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel & Blake Masters
41. Trust: America’s Best Chance by Pete Buttigieg
42. Shortest Way Home: One Mayor’s Challenge and a Model for America’s Future by Pete Buttigieg
43. Nothing Personal by James Baldwin
44. Revelations: The Autobiography of Alvin Ailey by Alvin Ailey & A. Peter Bailey
45. In the Shadow of the Eagle: A Tribal Representative in Maine by Donna M. Loring
46. Me by Ricky Martin
47. And a Voice to Sing With: A Memoir by Joan Baez
48. The Holly Woodlawn Story: A Low Life in High Heels by Holly Woodlawn
49. The Gloria Anzaldúa Reader (Latin America Otherwise) by Gloria Anzaldúa
50. I’m the One That I Want by Margaret Cho
51. WOLFPACK: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power, and Change the Game by Abby Wambach
52. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
53. Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds edited by Adrienne Maree Brown
54. We Will Not Cancel Us edited by Adrienne Maree Brown
55. Love and Rage by Lama Rod Owens
56. I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl’s Notes from the End of the World by Kai Cheng Thom
57. Martina by Martina Navratilova
58. Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good edited by Adrienne Maree Brown
59. Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction from Social Justice Movements edited by Adrienne Maree Brown
60. How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office: The Anti-Politics, Un-Boring Guide to Power edited by Adrienne Maree Brown
61. The Children of Harvey Milk: How LGBTQ Politicians Changed the World by Andrew Reynolds
62. Representation Matters: How Victory Fund, Victory Institute, and LGBT Leaders are Transforming America by Karen Ocamb
63. Serving in Silence by Margarethe Cammermeyer
64. Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage by Barney Frank
65. Pressure is a Privilege: Lessons I’ve Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes by Billie Jean King
66. Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making it Work by Tim Gunn
67. Queer Eye: Love Yourself, Love Your Life by Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Jonathan Van Ness, Bobby Berk & Karamo Brown
68. My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing, and Hope by Karamo Brown
69. Naturally Tan by Tan France
70. Over The Top by Jonathan Van Ness
71. 71. One Life by Megan Rapinoe & Emma Brockes
72. It’s About Damn Time by Arlan Hamilton
73. Inclusion: Diversity, the New Workplace, & The Will to Change by Jennifer Brown
74. Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story by Jacob Tobia
75. Borderlands/ La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldúa
76. Ma and Me: A Memoir by Putsata Reang
77. In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist prose by Alice Walker
78. Eat, Pray, Love: One woman’s search for everything across Italy, India, and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
79. Truth or Dare: Encounters with power, authority, and mystery by Starhawk
80. Stand Out: How to find your breakthrough idea and build a following around it by Dorie Clark
81. Feeling Power: Emotions and education by Megan Boler
82. And Now We Are Going to Have a Party by Nichola Griffith
83. Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me by Ellen Forney
84. All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson
85. Fairest: A Memoir by Meredith Talusan
86. Hola Papi: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons by John Paul Brammer
87. Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls: A Memoir by T Kira Madden
88. People Change by Vivek Shraya
89. I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya
90. We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib
91. Boy Erased: A Memoir of Identity, Faith, and Family by Garrard Conley
92. Surpassing Certainty: What My Twenties Taught Me by Janet Mock
93. Warrior Princess: A US Navy SEAL’s Journey to Coming Out Transgender by Kristen Beck & Anne Speckhard
94. Virtually Human by Martine Rothblatt, PhD
95. Zami: A New Spelling of My Name: A Biomythography by Audre Lorde
96. I Can’t Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race, and Other Reasons I’ve Put My Faith in Beyonce by Michael Arceneaux
97. I Don’t Want to Die Poor: Essays by Michael Arceneaux
98. Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate by Charlene Carruthers
99. The Queer Advantage: Conversations with LGBTQ+ Leaders on Power of Identity by Andrew Gelwicks
100. The G Quotient: Why Gay Executives are Excelling as Leaders… and What Every Manager Needs to Know by Kirk Snyder
101. Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us by Kate Bornstein
102. No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black & Free in America by Darnell L Moore
103. All The Things She Said: Everything I Know About Modern Lesbian and Bi Culture by Daisy Jones
104. The Queering of Corporate America by Carlos A. Ball
105. Inclusive 360: Proven Solutions for an Equitable Organization by Bernadette Smith
106. My Greatest Save by Brianna Scurry 
107. In My Skin by Brittney Griner
108. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel 
109. Gender Magic: Live Shamelessly, Reclaim Your Joy, & Step into Your Most Authentic Self by Rae McDaniel
110. The Educator’s Guide to LGBT+ Inclusion: A Practical Resource for K-12 Teachers, Administrators, and School Support Staff by Kryss Shane
111. Creating an LGBT+ Inclusive Workplace: The Practical Resource Guide for Business Leaders by Kryss Shane
112. The Glass Closet: Why Coming Out is Good for Business by John Browne
113. Straight Jacket: Overcoming Society’s Legacy of Gay Shame by Matthew Todd
114. Stonewall: The Definitive Story of the LGBTQ Rights Uprising that Changed America by Martin Duberman
115. Trailblazer: Lighting the Path for Transgender Equality in Corporate America by Mary Ann Horton
116. A Burst of Light: and Other Essays by Audre Lorde
117. Banned from California: – Jim Foshee – Persecution, Redemption, Liberation… and the Gay Civil Rights Movement by Robert C. Steele
118. Body Becoming: A Path to Our Liberation by Robyn Henderson-Espinoza
119. In Transit: Being Non-Binary in a World of Dichotomies by Dianne. E. Anderson
120. We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power, and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation by Matthew Reimer
121. Pageboy: A Memoir by Elliot Page
122. Diary of a Misfit: A Memoir and a Mystery by Casey Parks
123. A Place for Us: A Memoir by Brandon J. Wolf
124. The Lie: A Memoir of Two Marriages, Catfishing & Coming Out by William Dameron
125. You’re That Bitch: & Other Cute Lessons About Being Unapologetically Yourself by Bretman Rock
126. The One You Want to Marry (And Other Identities I’ve Had): A Memoir by Sophie Santos
127. Black Boy Out of Time by Hari Ziyad
128. This Time for Me: A Memoir by Alexandra Billings
129. Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation by Hannah Gadsby
130. All Down Darkness Wide: A Memoir by Sean Hewitt
131. In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado
132. The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening by Ari Shapiro
133. Deaf Utopia: A Memoir – and a Love Letter to a Way of Life by Nyle DiMarco
134. We Can Be Heroes: A Survivor’s Story by Paul Burston
135. Horse Barbie: A Memoir by Geena Rocero
136. Baggage: Tales from a Fully Packed Life by Alan Cumming
137. A Queer History of the United States by Michael Bronski
138. The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man’s World by Alan Downs, PhD
139. Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture by Sherronda J. Brown
140. The Male Gazed: On Hunks, Heartthrobs, and What Pop Culture Taught Me About (Desiring) Men by Manuel Betancourt
141. The Book of Pride: LGBTQ Heroes Who Changed the World by Mason Funk
142. Lesbian Love Story: A Memoir in Archives by Amelia Possanza
143. Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington by James Kirchick
144. Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender by Dr. Kit Heyam
145. Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas
146. Is It Hot in Here (Or Am I Suffering for All Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth)? by Zach Zimmerman
147. The Apartheid of Sex: A Manifesto on the Freedom of Gender by Martine Rothblatt, PhD
148. Your First Million: Building a Path to Generational Wealth by Arlan Hamilton
149. Breaking Through: Communicating to Open Minds, Move Hearts, and Change the World by Sally Susman
150. How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones